Opinions split on Yoshida's chance for success after landing huge contract from Red Sox
TOKYO — MLB teams have gone a little bit crazy recently handing out long-term multi-year contracts to players. Rafael Devers was the latest to benefit in this extravaganza, signing for 10 years at $331 million with the Boston Red Sox. Before that it was Carlos Correa for 12 years at $315 million for the New York Mets (which fell through), Trea Turner 11 years at $300 million for the Phillies, Xander Bogaerts 11 years at $280 million for the San Diego Padres, and Aaron Judge at nine years and $360 million for the New York Yankees, in the largest free agent deal in MLB history (albeit that is a record that is likely to be broken by Shohei Ohtani at the end of this year 2023.) It seems insane, because most of these long-term contracts are for players in their late 20’s or early 30’s. Five or six years from now they will have aged and won’t be the same.
The rationale for this spending craze has something to do with revisions in the luxury tax rules in a new labor agreement signed with MLBPA which raises the luxury tax threshold, and makes it easier somehow for clubs to amortize their costs, even though the value of the player will have declined halfway through the deal.
Additionally, there is the fact that MLB is rolling in money, thanks to the new playoff format included in the labor deal — an agreement that also allows for advertising on uniforms and helmets for the first time ever — as well as the cash-rich streaming network packages MLB received from Apple TV and Peacock.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Robert Whiting's Japan to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.